My ideas for a NB/HU cross over world

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Rallan
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Re: My ideas for a NB/HU cross over world

Unread post by Rallan »

I don't buy it. If the Nightlords are trying to keep their existence a secret, why would they do something huge like trying to kill every superhero in the world on Dark Day? Dark Day itself is a conspicuous enough event, but if a high proportion of the world's caped crusaders are bumped off at the same time then the Nightlords may as well just put up a big neon sign saying "Attention people of Earth, the ultimate supervillains have arrived". If they want to thin out the world's superhero population, they'd be better off "sponsoring" (ie creating) new ridicuously dangerous supervillains and unleashing them upon the world after Dark Day, preferably with some cover story about how these villains caused Dark Day to happen in the first place.
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Re: My ideas for a NB/HU cross over world

Unread post by drewkitty ~..~ »

femfan wrote:Sounds pretty good to me. I love Nightbane and HU, but i've never combined them. Nightbane by themselves are pretty badass in a HU world. Still the ideal of heroes going up against Hounds and such is appealing. Good luck with the game. :-)


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Re: My ideas for a NB/HU cross over world

Unread post by Daniel Stoker »

Rallan wrote:I don't buy it. If the Nightlords are trying to keep their existence a secret, why would they do something huge like trying to kill every superhero in the world on Dark Day? Dark Day itself is a conspicuous enough event, but if a high proportion of the world's caped crusaders are bumped off at the same time then the Nightlords may as well just put up a big neon sign saying "Attention people of Earth, the ultimate supervillains have arrived". If they want to thin out the world's superhero population, they'd be better off "sponsoring" (ie creating) new ridicuously dangerous supervillains and unleashing them upon the world after Dark Day, preferably with some cover story about how these villains caused Dark Day to happen in the first place.


I'd think they'd be smarter and find a way to sponsor a bunch of heroes before Dark Day then staging some sort of event they could point to that would hopefully kill a bunch of innocent humans and then blame it all on the heroes and their 'recklessness' and how it shows we can't trust them.


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Rallan
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Re: My ideas for a NB/HU cross over world

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Daniel Stoker wrote:
Rallan wrote:I don't buy it. If the Nightlords are trying to keep their existence a secret, why would they do something huge like trying to kill every superhero in the world on Dark Day? Dark Day itself is a conspicuous enough event, but if a high proportion of the world's caped crusaders are bumped off at the same time then the Nightlords may as well just put up a big neon sign saying "Attention people of Earth, the ultimate supervillains have arrived". If they want to thin out the world's superhero population, they'd be better off "sponsoring" (ie creating) new ridicuously dangerous supervillains and unleashing them upon the world after Dark Day, preferably with some cover story about how these villains caused Dark Day to happen in the first place.


I'd think they'd be smarter and find a way to sponsor a bunch of heroes before Dark Day then staging some sort of event they could point to that would hopefully kill a bunch of innocent humans and then blame it all on the heroes and their 'recklessness' and how it shows we can't trust them.


Daniel Stoker


Yeah but pre-Dark Day their resources are limited, and most of what their dudes on Earth do is geared up to either prepare the way or make sure nobody finds out about it.

Meanwhile, a cover story that relies on "oh these very famous prominent individuals who are constantly in the public eye were traitors" is a cover story that's gonna be extremely hard to maintain. Better to just run Dark Day as an unexplained event (or hint that a new cabal of "supervillains" who are all Night Princes and Avatars may have been responsible) than to try and pin it on well-known guys. There'll be plenty of time to frame superheroes after things ahve settled down, and it'll be much, much easier after Dark Day since you can use supernatural doubles for lots of the important roles.
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Re: My ideas for a NB/HU cross over world

Unread post by Razzinold »

We are actually playing a Nightbane game right now that sounds similar to that. It is in Century Station, the heroes are all AWOL or dead (for the most part) 3 of us are 'banes, one is a hero from HU and another character is a Chiang-Ku dragon ley line walker.

We were smuggling guns between two factions, (two from the HU book, I think they were fabricators and stranger inc) anyway it's been fun, the guy playing the super had a little troubled because he took some serious damage and does not heal like a 'bane does, but he was healed by magic so it's all good. We are playing this Friday, should be fun, we just got our hands on a space ship.

On a side note, our "hero" does not wear a costume he just wears jeans and a t-shirt to stay low-key, and avoid attention,but one NPC wore one that looked like it came from a store for halloween costumes (it was baggy and realy cheesy looking). As for me I play a 'bane and as a weird twist I draw lots of attention, I am one of the top people on the NSB's (I think that's the group from the book, not sure this is my first time playing Nightbane) most wanted list :)
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Re: My ideas for a NB/HU cross over world

Unread post by TechnoGothic »

Razzinold wrote:We are actually playing a Nightbane game right now that sounds similar to that. It is in Century Station, the heroes are all AWOL or dead (for the most part) 3 of us are 'banes, one is a hero from HU and another character is a Chiang-Ku dragon ley line walker.

We were smuggling guns between two factions, (two from the HU book, I think they were fabricators and stranger inc) anyway it's been fun, the guy playing the super had a little troubled because he took some serious damage and does not heal like a 'bane does, but he was healed by magic so it's all good. We are playing this Friday, should be fun, we just got our hands on a space ship.

On a side note, our "hero" does not wear a costume he just wears jeans and a t-shirt to stay low-key, and avoid attention,but one NPC wore one that looked like it came from a store for halloween costumes (it was baggy and realy cheesy looking). As for me I play a 'bane and as a weird twist I draw lots of attention, I am one of the top people on the NSB's (I think that's the group from the book, not sure this is my first time playing Nightbane) most wanted list :)

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Other Players were equally powerful or more so. Adult Hatchling Greeat Horned Dragon and a God from the Pantheons Book. One of the Real Gods. GM let him pick a god with Under 10,000 SDC. Another God also, Player picked him from Rifts, Strong Eagle. Only had 7 thousand SDC or so. Enough to be a terror usually. More so when he assumed Animal Totem Forms.
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Re: My ideas for a NB/HU cross over world

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Darkechilde wrote:They would probably stage some crimes, with either actual super villains, or with minions dressed up as some, and make sure to point out that the "heroes" didn't show up to try and stop them, like they used to.


I get the feeling that they'd have to use fake supervillains, since real villains are probably gonna end up being treated almost as badly as heroes and nightbane. Some villains don't like authority figures (which means they'd cause just as much trouble for the Nightlords as they do for human governments). Some villains don't like to share (which means they'd never stoop to working with - let alone for - someone else who plans on ruling the world). Some villains aren't bent on destroying all life on Earth (so the Nightlords' plan for genocide will be a dealbreaker). And some have "What Would The Joker Do?" bumper stickers and are so reliably treacherous or insane that you could set your watch by how regularly they'll betray their Nightlord "allies".

Which could be an interesting premise for a campaign. If the Nightlords focus on wiping out as many heroes as possible during Dark Day and leave the villains alone because they like the extra despair everyone'll feel at the thought of supervillains running amok unopposed, you could run a villains-as-protagonists game. The ranks of superherodom were decimated by Dark Day and a string of incriminating scandals in the years after it, and it's been a new golden age for the world's diabolical masterminds.

Except that some of them have stumbled upon the awful truth about the Nightlord invasion of Earth. And with the world's governments infiltrated by the enemy, and most of the world's heroes dead or in hiding, there's nobody left to save the day except for the villains.
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Johnathan
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Re: My ideas for a NB/HU cross over world

Unread post by Johnathan »

Interesting concept, and I'm always one to see how crossing over aspects of one game into another can change things up...

A couple of things worth pointing out though, I feel. Originally, in the Nightbane-verse, Dark Day was a diversion, yes? It was designed basically for the sole purpose of causing mass chaos while key political, industrial and law enforcement figures were replaced in a massive blitz. And through the chaos, if the Nightlord minions happened to snag off a few Nightbane, magic wielders and the rare superhuman that MIGHT have existed, then that's just one less thing they had to worry about.

HOWEVER, with that being said, Dark Day was NOT orchestrated so that the Nightlords and their minions could sweep through the streets killing off everything they came in contact with. Far too obvious, and trying to target HU Heroes and Villians, unless those Heroes and/or Villians held some kind of power BEYOND their super abilities... They would not be the main targets of the invasion. The core purpose of the invasion would remain the same.

With that being said, MOST Heroes and Villians in Heroes Unlimited, I feel, would NOT be "in the know" about what was going on during Dark Day. Magic and Psionic HU characters MIGHT have had some kind of pre-emptive warning about some great danger that was soon to envelope the Earth... But by and far, I would believe that ALL OTHERS would be -completely- clueless unless previously mentioned classes had warned THEM about it.

Heroes would assume it was some nefarious plot by some evil supervillian, in an attempt to take over the world, the super villians would assume it was some OTHER supervillian who was about to beat them to the punch... the forewarned would disappear, go into hiding, make themselves scarse... you get the idea. However! It is my belief that nine out of ten Super Heroes/Villians would go out and try to figure out just what the [Bleep] is going on! The Villians MIGHT decide to hole up in whatever evil strongholds they had and try to WAIT out it... but the HEROES would definitely be OUT there helping out the common people. And it would not take long before they encountered Nightlord Minions and did BATTLE!!

But, also remember, by the time Heroes get up and mobile, the Nightlords have already probably achieved half of their objectives! Imagine it, A Hero shows up and tries to help whatever law enforcement that is around, and they end up opening fire on him. Because the police is now controlled by the Nightlords, or are minions themselves. It would not take long for the Heroes of the world to realize that something VERY wrong has happened. Will they disappear? Doubtful, many of them, while not suicidal, will not abandon the people that have come to depend on them for their sense of security...

What do the Heroes think of Nightbane? Are they monsters? Are they villians? Minions? It suddenly becomes a four way battle. Nightbane vs Nightlords vs Heroes vs Villians. Everyone trying to figure out just WHAT they are going to do about the OTHER THREE!!
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Re: My ideas for a NB/HU cross over world

Unread post by Rallan »

Johnathan wrote:Interesting concept, and I'm always one to see how crossing over aspects of one game into another can change things up...

A couple of things worth pointing out though, I feel. Originally, in the Nightbane-verse, Dark Day was a diversion, yes? It was designed basically for the sole purpose of causing mass chaos while key political, industrial and law enforcement figures were replaced in a massive blitz. And through the chaos, if the Nightlord minions happened to snag off a few Nightbane, magic wielders and the rare superhuman that MIGHT have existed, then that's just one less thing they had to worry about.


Nah it wasn't a diversion, it was a side-effect of the Nightlord ritual that brought Earth and the Nightlands into synch with each other.

And really, if it was a diversion it was a terrible one. Before the Dark Day, it was a setting where only a tiny handful of sorcerers and monsters knew that the supernatural was in fact real, and the closest that most people came to belief in magic was their faith in false religions. Then along comes an event beyond the explanation of science which is witnessed by every person on the planet, accompanied by reports from credible witnesses all over the world of monsters and magic. If I was planning to secretly invade a world where nobody believes in magic, I'm pretty sure I'd have come up with a better diversion than showing off my magic in front of an audience of billions and announcing to the world that somehing beyond the ken of mundane science is going on :)
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Re: My ideas for a NB/HU cross over world

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I've never liked the world of HU, I always used them in a world of my own devising for it - usually with a lot less "known" supers.

When I added HU heroes to NB I always added them as mystic, genetic, and government experiments. Same with Villains. Use some HU organizations liberally (after changing some details) and you have Supers that fit into NB seemlessly, fit thematically with the source material, and give you a lot of story ideas. Still got the same deal of villains and heroes working together, only you get different heroes and villains. How about a minor villain who becomes a vampire - suddenly he's a big league bad guy, but he has to deal with the Nightlords AND heroes who want him dead (again).
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MikelAmroni
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Re: My ideas for a NB/HU cross over world

Unread post by MikelAmroni »

Heh, thanks. In short - sprinkle on HU rules and liberal dashes of HU organizations onto a nigthbane full 5 course meal, and voila - HU/NB crossover that makes sense.

I started to put it all together last night, but I ended up shelving it, and just stuck to writing my ongoing games instead (since, you know, they have a lot more precedence in my gaming groups :D )
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Re: My ideas for a NB/HU cross over world

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FaerieKnight wrote:
Rallan wrote:I don't buy it. If the Nightlords are trying to keep their existence a secret, why would they do something huge like trying to kill every superhero in the world on Dark Day? Dark Day itself is a conspicuous enough event, but if a high proportion of the world's caped crusaders are bumped off at the same time then the Nightlords may as well just put up a big neon sign saying "Attention people of Earth, the ultimate supervillains have arrived". If they want to thin out the world's superhero population, they'd be better off "sponsoring" (ie creating) new ridicuously dangerous supervillains and unleashing them upon the world after Dark Day, preferably with some cover story about how these villains caused Dark Day to happen in the first place.


One explanation given is... That no one knows that most of the heroes are dead. Many were slain in their sleep or out of the public eye. Monsters were reported on Dark Day (and since once in a while), but where are the costumed crime fighters? They promised to protect the world, but they vanished when the world needed them most. Thus the Nightbane books describe that the Preservation Party would also have anti-meta stances.

"Where was Captain Crimebuster when mosters were destroying our fair city? He never came, and his negligence cost lives. Well I for one wont stand for it any longer. We don't need his help to protect the people. He's part of the problem!"


If they all vanish at about the same time though, foul play is gonna be the obvious explanation. It would certainly help set up an atmosphere of hopelessness to undermine human morale, but it would turn Dark Day from "that inexplicable event that we all want to put behind us" into "the day that something terrible began".
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Re: My ideas for a NB/HU cross over world

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FaerieKnight wrote:They vanished, while at the same time credible accounts say that monsters started appearing. Maybe the so-called heroes are behind it. After all, does anyone really know anything about them? They wear masks and hide who they are.


Okay so the chain of events (as far as most people is concerned.

1) Dark Day happens.
2) After Dark Day, people start hearing stories about monsters.
3) A bit later after Dark Day, people start to realise that a lot of superheroes don't seem to be around any more.

That's the only hard evidence anyone has to work with. Sit me down and explain why people will leap to the conclusion that the supers are why Dark Day happened, instead of concluding that something made the supers vanish.

Naturally enough, the heroes with public identities could be killed via dream monsters and a doppelganger replaces them. This public 'hero' could then denounce the world. Or throw his favor in with the preserver party. No longer is he in the streets fighting crime. Commander Dogooder is now visibly helping the preserver party and NSB to track down the true cause of Dark Day. Using his good name he could then pin it on well known heroes who've vanished.


So basically your cunning plan for the Nightlords to avoid notice is to put a big neon sign on top of the Preserver Party and the government saying "THE EVIL CONSPIRACY IS RIGHT HERE GUYS!!!" Seriously, a bunch of the world's most popular supers becoming massive jerks, giving up crimefighting, and joining the Preserver Party? In any sane world (or really, in any world where all the ordinary people in it aren't retarded morons), it'll take people all of five seconds to realise that something very very wrong is going on, and that the Preserver Party is in the thick of it.

Imagine you live in the DC universe. All of a sudden Superman and Wonder Woman and Batman and so on start being massive jerks, killing criminals instead of handing them over to the cops, doing public appearances for a fascist political party that started six months ago, and cackling maniacally when they're asked where various critical journalists have ended up. You would have to be the most amazingly stupid dumbass in the history of amazingly stupid dumbasses not to realise that this new political party is ran by some sort of evil baddy.

It makes for a great plot for a saturday morning action cartoon, but as plausible setting ideas go it's just terrible.
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Re: My ideas for a NB/HU cross over world

Unread post by Kinghawke »

I have a few ideas on the subject:
A) the Nightlords took control, the heroes saw it coming, & took control of the planet forcibly (think the parallel earth where the Justice League took control of earth after the Flash was killed), and battled the "bad guys" who manipulate & control the public to fight against their oppressors.

B) the Nightlords could coerce a great many supervillains. you are all focusing on the Heroes too much and not enough on the Villains. Hounds & supervillains working side by side could overwhelm or scare off a great many heroes

C) it takes Nightcults, alot of them worldwide, to align the dimensions. the sheer magical power would attract attention of most magic-users though alot of them would simply take the power boost in stride & not think much of it. however, with the Nightcults doing their thing, the good magic-users would be the first to "disappear". the Heroes are generally weak against magic. the Nightlords would utilize that to their advantage with their cults.
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